Wandering The Wastes
by SirEdwardIII
Summary: Follow the 2nd person story of Joker, a skilled merc from the MidWest
1. Chapter 1

The raiders caught you off guard, knocked you out and dragged your body back to their shack, if you had noticed them then you would've killed them all, it is your profession. You hear voices inside the shack, you can't quite make out what they're saying, you try to open your eyes but your vision is clouded, great. You decide to pretend you're still asleep, knowing raiders they're probably going to cut off your limbs and beat you with them, but they want you awake when they do. You eventually get your bearings and assess the situation, 2 raiders are in the shed, from what you can tell, though there might be more, they've stripped you to your shorts, you open your eye a bit and see your gear on a table next to you, big mistake. The rope that binds your wrists is loose, also a big mistake. After silently releasing your wrist you reach over and grab your combat knife and slip it behind your back. One of the raiders goes out and you take your chance, you jump up and stab the raider in the neck when his back is turned, you then drag his limp body in the corner so the other raider will not notice him. You take position at the side of the door, good thing the room was pretty dark or this wouldn't work, the raider comes in and you stab him in the neck too. After dumping his body you put on your gear, a backpack with your food, drink, and medicine, a GPS, a FN FAL you found in a museum, your combat knife, a 10mm pistol, and 5 frag grenades. The rifle you keep on your back while the knife, pistol, GPS, and grenades you keep on your belt along with ammo and a small sack with your caps; finally you put on your clothes, a merc veteran outfit with a special thin metal breastplate underneath, it can stop most standard bullets except for sniper, minigun, shotgun, and 44 magnum, good thing you haven't run into any super mutants. Taking a peak outside you see no one else and decide to continue on your journey to Megaton. Your GPS tells you that you have a 2 hour hike to Megaton; before you do that you stuff some stimpacks and beer in your backpack.

After a long hike and 2 molerats you reach the gates of megaton, going inside you are met by the sheriff who warns you not to try anything, it's obvious he is eyeing your clothes, you assure him that you won't be any trouble and that you want to buy a house here.

"We got a house open, gave it to a guy who defused the bomb, but he moved to Rivet City."  
"How much?"  
"hmmm, I see you're a merc, how about this, I'll let you live here as long as you help protect the town, sound good?"

You needed a place to stay and you were told of how safe it was, you agreed and he handed you the key and pointed you in its direction, you find the house and get settled in, by settled in you threw your backpack down and headed out the door, ignoring the robot. The heat was strong outside, you eye a bar but you didn't go there for a drink, but for information. After a quick conversation with the lady at the bar outside you are pointed to Craterside Supply, heading up the ramp you enter the supply and stop dead in your tracks, a woman is at the desk, leaning over a 10mm submachine gun tinkering with it, your male instincts draw your eyes lower, her jumpsuit is unzipped a bit and she isn't wearing an undershirt, her cleavage is exposed, you see a bead of sweat roll from her neck down to in between her breast. She takes a rag to her neck and finally notices you standing there like an idiot.

"hiya stranger, haven't seen you before, what can I getcha?"  
"I'm uh…..looking for an energy pack for my GPS, a solar one is you have it"  
"I've got just the thing, it's In the back"

She walks off in the other room and you turn around to lean on the bar, on the wall is a hired gun staring at you.

"hiya"  
"don't start that shit with me, I saw you eyeballing Moira, and let me tell you, she's as prude as she is weird, and she's pretty damn weird. I tried having a go at that my first year here, still have the scar to prove it, just do your trading and get out."

She returns with the solar powered energy pack.

"this version is a bit more advanced, it recharges in the sun and has a battery life of 13 hours, because of this I need to charge a bit more…500 caps…"

It's a good thing you killed a bunch of raiders before coming here, you have around 2000 caps on hand, 500 in your sack, perfect amount. You dump your caps on her desk and she hands you the pack, which you replace with the old one, it needs to be charged so you thank Moira and give a small nod to the hired gun before heading back to your house and taking a nap. You wake up 2 hours later and fill your sack up with another 500 caps before heading out to that bar you were at earlier, after paying for your meal you look behind you to the babble of some guy standing in water talking to a nuke, you're told by the lady that he's a member of 'The Church of Atom' and that they keep to themselves. If Christianity can survive a nuclear holocaust, then crazy people can too. After familiarizing yourself with the city you get wasted and pass out in front of your house.


	2. Chapter 2

You are woken up to a kick in the side, "get up before I shoot you, trust me, these guys don't care." You roll over on your back to both get a look at your assailant and to protect your ribs he kicked. Your assailant is a man in armor and a shaven head; you spot the stock of a Chinese assault rifle on his back and hold out an arm as he pulls you up. "Names Jericho saw the gear you had when you walked in, and your clothes, you still a merc, or retired?" you tell him your name and that you're still for hire, he then says you should hang out sometime, after the conversation you head inside, ignoring the robot, and get yourself cleaned up, its hunting day.

You grab your rifle and head outside and start heading south, you quickly spot a roaming mole rat and take it down with a well-placed shot to the head, before skinning it. The reason you're doing this is because you get paid 10 caps for every pound of meat you bring in, 10 caps isn't much but it accumulates, good thing you have a well-secured supply cache in Virginia. After 3 hours of sniping, you bring your loot to Andy, where he pays you.

You head outside and are about to enter your house when shots ring out, you check your clip and run to the gates, Jericho and Simms are close behind you. You three open the gate where the robot and a sniper you can't see are in a fierce firefight with a group of about 10 raiders. You take cover and throw a frag grenade into the scattered raider crowd, it explodes killing two; you then raise your head and begin firing on a raider with a minigun, after a successful headshot you begin targeting the other raiders. After 6 minutes you, Simms, Jericho, the robot and the sniper have killed the last raider, you and Jericho salvage what you want from the bodies, everything else, except for the minigun, is sent to Craterside Supply, the minigun is attached the outpost tower where the sniper, Stockholm, is located. The robot has sustained minor damages, and is being repaired. You head straight to Moriaty's Saloon and order yourself a drink, ignoring the prostitute, before heading outside, where you are applauded by Simms for your combat skills. You then head home, ignore the robot, and go to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

You wake up and grab your gear before heading outside, you see rivet city guards and a pack Brahmin carrying crates of Aqua-Pura, you go and help out with the unloading, it isn't until you get a closer look that you notice the guards look fatigued; after unloading the water you strike up a conversation with a guard. The guard has told you that everyone is working double shifts, you felt bad for the guard, he was young, in an act of stupidity you agree to take over his next route, handing him the key to your house you put on his vest and helmet and set out with the escorts.

You were soon walking along a ruined highway when the guard taking point was shot in the shoulder, rushing over you take out a small, but powerful magnet and place it over the wound, after the bullet is removed you apply a stimpack and bandage the wound. Two other guards drag him to the back while you take cover behind a cement blockade, occasionally peeking over to try to spot a muzzle flash while the other guards shoot in the general direction. You finally spot a muzzle flash and fire a few rounds into that direction before charging to a closer blockade. Movement can be heard from the spot of the attacker, but no shots, the guards have come up and seized the wounded assailant, a young teenager with a hunting rifle and a note. After healing and handcuffing the assailant you and the guards look at the note.

'You've been chosen to intercept a shipment of water, pure water, we are in short supply of our own and those pricks from the brotherhood refuse to supply us, so this is to get water and to teach them a lesson. If you are successful you will be a full-fledged member of the BullDogs, don't let us down'

The sergeant sighs at the mention of BullDogs, upon further investigation you find out that the BullDogs are a large gang that have been causing trouble across the Virginia Wasteland. You finish your route and head back to Megaton where the guard is waiting, he thanks you for the room and takes back his gear before heading off, you head into your house and go to bed, oh yeah, and you ignore the robot.

You wake up and head outside where 5 people and 3 Brahmin are being surrounded by the townsfolk, pushing your way to the front you see the eldest man giving a speech.

"listen up people of Megaton, my companions and I have been sent as both ambassadors, and traders to the Eastern Wastelands, we come from the great city of Denver, we have spent years restoring it to its former glory, and that goal is almost complete, now we must focus on passing our wealth to other parts of America, I have with me items that cannot be found on the East Coast; weapons, technology, and knowledge. I hope that one day; we can spread our inventory to all of America!"

He steps aside with an arm spread, pointing to the Brahmin. Simms pulls him to the side where they talk in private. You go up to the weapons vendor and browse his selection, a certain pistol catches your eye, and the vendor sees this and holds it up to you.

"This baby here is your standard 9mm pistol, a bit different from the 10mm version you guys got out here, holds 12 rounds per clip. The pistol itself costs 300 caps with a fully loaded clip inside, 100 caps per clip."

After some discussion you buy the pistol for 200 caps and a clip for the standard 100. You put the pistol in the pocket on the inside of your jacket, right behind your medals, raider wars and all that junk, they don't mean much to you, but they have an effect on others, and you put the clip right next to it. The heat has been dying down lately so you figure it's a good time to head to The Pitt, you're surprised that after 3 months after being liberated somebody would have changed the name. You grab your gear and set your GPS to the tunnel outpost, but grab 50 pieces of scrap metal, and an empty ammo box before you head out. When you reach the gate to the outpost you are stopped by two guards wearing Pitt armor, they ask you what your business is, but you reassure them that you are there to make ammo, when they hear that one guard goes to a HAM radio and messages ahead that you will be arriving. After the message is sent you are lead past some generators and to a makeshift boxcar. You get in and a guard hits a button that sets the boxcar in motion.

After a long trip on a very fast boxcar you reach the end of the track where even more guards greet you, they tell you to keep your weapons holstered while inside the city before pointing you in the right direction. You find the entrance and ask the guards at the gate where to find the ammo press; one escorts you to the building and tells you it's right inside. You find it fairly easy and tell the guy working the press if he has schematics for 9mm rounds.

"Oh yeah, our originals were a bit worn and hard to read, but a group came here a while back from this place called Denver, somewhere out westward, anyway he gave us all kinds of schematics and a few weapons , have the sheets right here."

By the time your box is full it has reached 10 pm, you ask him if there's an inn, he gives you directions to the closest one, you find it and order a room where you quickly fall asleep.


End file.
